Excerpts from And Indeed It Is Very Good: A Pastoral Letter on Faith and Environment: Living in Community with God’s Creation (Obtained from the United Church of Christ's website)

"The social and the environmental dance together. Each species and habitat, each culture and region, each place and people in the world expresses the divine image."

"Remembering the beauty of the earth, we are given gifts of grace and attention to celebrate the extravagant gifts of regional cultures, rural and urban, and the geographic and ecological landscapes of each. Wisdom is required to care for them. The United Church of Christ has a rich theological heritage and social activism history. We celebrate an inclusive hospitality for the love of neighbor in God, recognizing issues that unjustly affect community. But at times our recognition of these injustices has not risen to the level of robust advocacy. Such is the case with our environment".

" The social and the environmental dance together. Each species and habitat, each culture and region, each place and people in the world expresses the divine image. Each embodies an inherent worth that is indeed sacred and good, worthy not only of care, but also of celebration and appreciation in the living of our days".

UUC Website: http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/unitedchurch

ofchrist/legacy_url/6390/pastoral_letter.pdf?1418430920

Ways in which we live out this covenant was to make the commitment to review current practices and implement best practices. Some ways implemented are; purchases for the church are environmentally friendly; reducing and working towards eliminating our use of bottled water; reducing the use of paper plates & plastic utensils; reduce our waste by recycling; composted greens for our garden; and making the commitment to continue to learn how we can reduce our environmental footprint.

Good Shepherd celebrates the Earth. As a congregation we continue to learn how we can reduce our environmental footprint..

WAYS TO SERVE WHOLE EARTH MINISTRY

 Become a member of the Whole Earth Committee

 Write article for our monthly Newsletter

 Take photos for Newsletter and Website

 Find & Share Related Information on COGS Facebook & Blog

 Sing or Play an Instrument for Mother Earth at church services and events.

 Participate in Community Events

 Write Letters to Legislators regarding global warming and local enviromental issues.

 Submit Letters to local Publications

 Assist the planning Whole Earth Church Service

Let Pastor Kim know if you are interested in serving this covenant mission.

How do you define the word legacy? The Cambridge Dictionary defines legacy as: "money or property that you receive from someone after they die". This definition was not what I expected and yet I can see how it reflects our sluggish response to the many environmental warnings we have been given.

Our environmental behaviors did not balance out with the urgency needed to stem the tide against loss of species, ecosystems and the air we breathe.

We now have many activists from all sectors of the world. The younger generations thankfully have embraced the call and look to us to support their efforts as well as change our behaviors.

Change begins with telling the truth and taking responsibility for the damage. Some of us have longer and more egregious offenses. This is to clear the plate so we can begin to live sustainable lives.

We are given a sacred mission. To start, lets redefine the word legacy linking it to human behavior and not human possessions. As long as we view the land, sky, water, species, including humans, as belonging to us we will be unable to save the environment for those who follow.